More Americans Are Getting Their Coffee at Home

Americans are increasingly getting their caffeine fix not at the coffee house, but at the house. A new survey from the National Coffee Association finds that 85% of coffee drinkers who had a cup the previous day did so at home—the highest share since 2012 and a shift away from the pre-pandemic tilt toward cafés, reports Reuters. Analysts tie the move to hybrid work, pressure on household budgets, and better gadgets on kitchen counters. With many people commuting less and coffee prices still elevated due to global supply problems, more drinkers are bypassing coffee shops in favor of home brew.

Among those who do drink outside the home, offices and drive-thrus now beat out walk-in cafés. Former Nestlé executive and industry adviser Gerd Müller-Pfeiffer notes that "home machines now deliver near out-of-home quality." The report also showed that while most Americans start their day off with a cuppa, 38% go for one later in the morning, 22% hit it in the afternoon, and 11% were sipping in the evening, notes Vending Marketwatch. Overall coffee usage remains steady: 66% of respondents said they had coffee in the prior day, more than any other beverage, and Americans average 2.8 cups daily—over 500 million cups nationwide.